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As part of the 16th Annual Forks & Corks, A Taste of Fort Scott, the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces there will be a Salsa Contest. Restaurants, caterers and individuals are welcome to enter. Entry in the contest only takes 2 quarts of your homemade salsa. One quart will be used for the tasting, and the other quart will be included in the auction. Event attendees will vote on their favorite and an award will be presented at the end of the evening, although it is not required to attend the event to enter salsa in the contest. To enter, bring 2 quarts of salsa to the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce (include name and contact info.), 231 E. Wall St., by Friday, November 1st.
The Forks & Corks event will take place Saturday, November 2, 2019 with the food & beverage tasting from 6:30 to 9pm, and a DJ/Dance by The Hull Experience following until 11pm. The theme this year is “Viva Fort Scott”, Las Vegas style. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door including a souvenir wine glass and all the tasting attendees can endure. Fourteen local restaurants and caterers are registered as food vendors. Standard Beverage will provide tasting of the latest in beers, wines and liqueurs and non-alcoholic beverages will be available as well. There will also be silent and live auctions, special raffles, a 50/50 drawing, and The Selfie Bar photo booth to capture memories of the evening. Donations are also welcome for the auctions to promote your business or organization.
Food vendors registered to have a booth for tasting include Bronson Locker, Butcher Block, Dairy Queen Grill & Chill, For Goodness Cakes, G & W Foods, Holmtown Pub, Kinede’s Cakes, La Hacienda, Luther’s BBQ, Mason’s Belltown BBQ, Nate’s Place, Papa Don’s Pizza, Perry’s Pork Rinds, and Sharky’s Pub & Grub. Attendees will also vote on the People’s Choice award to be included in the awards presenation’s that evening along with the Best Presentation award, and the Taster’s Choice award which is the committee favorite.
Contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce with any questions or to purchase tickets. Tickets may also be purchased online at fortscott.com.
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Be an Active Part of History this Holiday Season
Fort Scott Kan. – Friday, November 1, 2019, tickets for Fort Scott National Historic Site’s 38th Annual Candlelight Tour go on sale. Tickets are available by calling the Fort at 620-223-0310 (with a major credit card) or by stopping by the Visitor Center on Old Fort Blvd. They are $8.00 per person and non-refundable, children 5 and under are free. It is recommended that you get your tickets early for your choice of tour times as this event frequently sells out.
The 38th Annual Candlelight Tour is December 6 and 7, 2019. Tours on December 6 will begin at 6:30 pm and leave every 15 minutes until 9 pm. On Saturday, December 7, the tours will start at 5 pm with the final tour leaving at 8:45 pm. Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow time to park, present/pick up your ticket, and get oriented. Participants are advised to please dress for the weather and the terrain, as they will be outside and on sidewalks.
1,000 candle lanterns illuminate the site and 100 reenactors (including you) bring the fort to life. “This year’s tour will include the audience in the tour stops. It will feature six stops around the site beginning with enlistment and ending with reassignment or release from service,” said Betty Boyko, Superintendent, Fort Scott National Historic Site. “We encourage everyone to dress up (in modern or period clothes) and step back in time.” Take the tour under the identity of one of our own Fort Scott soldiers. Enlist in the U.S. Army stationed at the Fort; learn about their life on the frontier; the ups and downs of payday; celebrate the holidays 1840’s style; find out how much the officer’s wives appreciate all of your hard work; and after an memorable career, receive your discharge or reassignment stamp. Keep your enlistment card to remember your journey through time.
Fort Scott was an active military post from 1842-1853, which was a time of rapid growth and change in the country. As Fort Scott was being built, the nation grew west, expanding all the way to the Pacific Ocean. With this growth, Fort Scott changed, the mission of its soldiers changed, their experience changed, the environment changed, and the nation changed. Soldiers at Fort Scott lived their lives to the fullest despite the constant change.
From November 1-March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation. The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 am-4:30 pm. The park grounds are open daily from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset. For more information about Fort Scott National Historic Site programs or become involved in the candlelight tour, or other activities, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
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The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces this year’s Halloween Parade will be held Saturday, October 26th, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. in Downtown Fort Scott.
Prior to the parade, starting at 10:30 a.m., there will be special activities including pictures with a spooktacular backdrop at the City Scales building on North Main, face painting by Fort Scott High School thespians, and fun music by local DJ, The Hull Experience.
The parade trick-or-treats merchants along Main Street, starting at La Hacienda, south to 2nd Street, crossing the street then heading north back to Skubitz Plaza. Any businesses or organizations in the community, not located along Main Street, are welcome to set up a table on the sidewalk also providing treats, coupons, or other handouts for kids. Children are encouraged to bring a sack or bag to collect treats along the parade route.
Following the parade, a free hot dog lunch will be served to kids in costumes.
Special thanks to donors 5 Corners Mini Mart, Bids & Dibs, The Hull Experience, FSHS PRIDE & Thespians, Walgreens, and all participating organizations and merchants offering treats. The Chamber would also like to recognize the parade committee Darcy Smith, Chair; Crystal Mason; Vonnie Rickerson; and Angela Simon.
For more information contact the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce at 620-223-3566.
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Allyson Turvey, 30, is the new Fort Scott Tourism Manager at the Fort Scott Visitors Center, 231 E. Wall.
“Most of my past experience has been in customer service, but because I worked in the tourism department for two years before the promotion, I have gotten lots of on-the-job training,” she said. ” I am a certified Kansas Destination Specialist, a credential I received last year from the Tourism Industry Association of Kansas. I’m also a Certified Professional Travel Counselor, a credential I received from the State of Kansas Tourism Department.”
Turvey graduated from Sail High School, Tallahassee, FL and attended Fort Scott Community College for an associate’s degree before attending Missouri Southern State University for a bachelor’s degree in business.
Turvey’s duties include managing the visitors center, and social media marketing.
“I also attend various conventions and trade shows throughout the year in an effort to secure group tours and conferences, for which I help plan itineraries and agendas,” she said. “I work closely with the city and county tourism assets in order to get more visitors to them, and assist in planning and marketing events.”
In addition, she handles the marketing program of the LaRoche Baseball Complex.
” The best part of my job is the people,” Turvey said. ” I not only get a chance to work closely with locals, but I also get to meet people from all over the world who have come to visit this little community. At the visitors center, I’ve met people from Mexico, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, France, and so many others.”
Many in the community often take for granted Fort Scott and its’ attractions, but “Our visitors are always beyond impressed,” she said.
Her work is enjoyable in other ways as well.
“It’s also pretty awesome to work so closely with locals as well,” she said. “This community is absolutely filled with great people who love this city and want it to continue to succeed. This makes my job a lot easier because someone always has a new idea, or event, or business they want to bring here. I love that I can use my job position to help out with some of the fun endeavors people come up with. ”
Turvey grew up near Tulsa, OK, and still has family there.
Fort Scott Convention & Visitors Bureau can be reached at
620.670.2750 or [email protected]
Mike Lundeen will be on the keyboard; David Prickett, guitar and vocal, The Carlsons, guitar, bass, harmonica and vocals;The Eastsiders, Steve Fortenbury on guitar and others of the Heritage Park Pavilion performers.
Submitted by Jody Hoener, Bourbon County Economic Development Director
Bourbon County Economic Development is actively working on countywide goals to enhance our economic growth, lower property tax, and address population decline. We are addressing the current business climate with strategies to increase revenue through adding value, and therefore lowering the individual tax burden.
By providing opportunity for a privately developed multi-use facility with a focus on participatory sports, such as rodeo, we will inject added value into the community which will increase opportunities for recreation and assist retail business with increased sales revenue and foot traffic.
Bourbon County community has identified business, housing, and quality of life as their top three priorities.
Data collected from County surveys and face to face interviews on current business needs indicate that property tax burden is one of the top issues business face, second only to workforce needs.
Currently, the countywide average mill levy is $180.77 per $1000 assessed valuation, ranking Bourbon County 11th highest in the State of Kansas (Kansas Department of Revenue, 2018).
We are preparing for a marathon, not a sprint, to address our current tax climate, with long term goals of becoming more regionally competitive at $158.61 per $1000 assessed valuation by the year 2030.
We are leveraging community strengths and assets to create a more business-friendly environment in a place people want to live, work and play.
Fort Scott Community College is renowned nationwide for its rodeo team and Fort Scott is located on an intersection of two major highways. A grassroots committee of former rodeo team athletes, business owners, and public sector, with support from the community college president and rodeo team coach, has formed to see a privately developed multi-use facility constructed.
Bourbon County Commission, as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance livability and quality of life for its residents and to grow our economic base and resulting job opportunities, has commissioned a feasibility study for a multi-use event facility to be located in the Fort Scott area.
Markin Consulting, a national consulting firm specializing in these types of facilities, is conducting this two-phase study.
The first phase is an intense look at the market viability of this type of facility.
We are thankful for Bourbon County stakeholder’s Jim Keller, of Keller Ranch, and Steve Buerge, of Buerge Farms and Buerge Enterprises, Inc. who have made substantial contributions toward the market demand study. By completing rigorous cost benefit analysis, we are not only showing to be good stewards of tax payor resources but we are also planning for the future.
The decisions we make on investments today will determine the productivity, wages, and quality of life for generations to come. To grow a sustainable, thriving, prosperous community, we are developing creative and dynamic strategies, fostering public/private partnerships, and encourage civic participation.
We believe the feasibility study for the multi-use event facility is very important to our business community and are asking business and residents for your help by taking time to complete a very short, on-line survey for this study process.
Here’s the link for the resident survey: http://sgiz.mobi/s3/Bourbon-County-Event-Center-Survey
And here’s the link for the business survey: http://sgiz.mobi/s3/Bourbon-County-Business-Needs-Survey
For more information please contact:
Jody Hoener, Economic Development Director
620-215-5725
Pittsburg Youth Chorale to perform at parade
Pittsburg Youth Chorale, under the direction of MJ Harper, will perform a Pre-Parade Prelude at 8:30AM on Saturday, October 19th at Root Coffeehouse, 402 N. Broadway.
Sing along to holiday hits before Halloween, patriotic tunes in preparation for Veterans Day, and folk tunes perfect for Autumn.
Performers meet Tuesdays 5-6PM at First United Methodist Church, 415 N. Pine.
If you are interested in booking this ensemble, contact MJ Harper at 620-719-6633 or email [email protected] . Area singers in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade are invited to join Pittsburg Youth Chorale. Participants do not need to be enrolled in USD 250 to belong to this ensemble.To enroll, contact MJ Harper.